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The A’s had kind of a fire sale of pitchers in the offseason, but we all know that they seem to have no problem getting pitchers to pitch their best in Oakland 
(probably because their wall is like 600 feet back in center field and their foul territory goes on forever). In 2010, the A’s were the Rangers stiffest competition in the AL West, a year that the Rangers won the division rather easily. In 2011, they took a step back with their offense, and this year they took a step back with their pitching. They lost almost all of the young arms they had going for them over the past few seasons. Here, according to the depth chart on their website, is their starting 5. It probably will not overwhelm you in the least.
Starting Pitching:
1. Brandon McCarthy –Here is the name that many Rangers fans will remember. He pitched for the A’s last season after the Rangers gave up on him following 3 disappointing seasons in a Rangers uniform. Brandon had an okay
season in 2011. He started 25 games (he only started 45 in 3 seasons as a Ranger), had a record of 9 – 9, an ERA of 3.32 (in 3 seasons with the Rangers his ERA was 4.53, more than a run higher), struck out 123 (in 3 seasons with the Rangers he struck out 134) and he pitched a career high 170 innings. If he can build off of that, he could wind up having a pretty good season. My money would be on him being injured again, or maybe that only happened to him when he was a Ranger (kind of like Lamar Kardashian Odem in a Mavs uniform, but that is a different topic for a different day).
2. Bartolo Colon – Um, this is quite a difference in number 2 starters from last season. They went from a guy that was like 23 to a guy that is old enough to be that 23 yr olds grandpa. Colon had kind of a resurgence with the Yankees under their “system” (steroids!!) last season (8-10 with a 4.00 ERA in 22 starts), and I would be very surprised if he repeated those kind of numbers in 2012. Colon may still have some gas in the tank, but I do not see him being a threat like Brett Anderson or Trevor Cahill were. Already we have quite a difference from last season.
3. Tom Milone – Milone came to the A’s from the Washington Nationals where he started 5 games in 2011. He pitched pretty well, but 5 games (26 innings) is a very short sample. Like I said in the intro, Oakland seems to be a good place for young arms to get good, and Milone could have a pretty good season with the A’s. He was 1-0 with a 3.81 ERA with the Nats, and I could see him having an ERA under 4 with the Athletics. He is one that I would watch out for as a Ranger fan. The Rangers do badly against pitchers they are not familiar with, and with left handed pitchers, and Milone is both of those things. I have a feeling I will be writing more about Milone as the 2012 season progresses.
4. Tyson Ross – Not to be confused with Robbie Ross, who has made the Rangers bull pen, Tyson Ross is another young arm for the A’s, and he has 35 games under his belt at the major league level. You may remember him more from the 2010 season than from the 2011 season, as he got into 26 games in 2010. His problem, much line Milone, is he has only started 8 games at the major league level. The Rangers are more familiar with Ross than they are with Milone, and I think that works in the Rangers advantage. Ross could have a good season, he has good stuff, but I believe (much like Nefti), he will go through growing pains in 2012.
5. Graham Godfrey – As far as I know, he is no relation to Gilbert Godfrey, and that is probably a good thing for Graham. He started 4 games for Oakland in 2011, and he fared alright. he was 1-2 with a 3.96 ERA, and he struck out 13 in 25 innings. He is not officially the 5th starter yet, but they A’s have him listed there in their depth chart right now, so we are putting him here.
Before I get to the pen, I want to remind you all that the A’s did not lose all of their good pitchers. Brett Anderson is on the 60 day DL and Dallas Braden is on the 15 day DL, so Godfrey is probably a short term fix as well as Tyson Ross. Just wanted to remind you of that before we move on.
The Bullpen:
So, lets take a look at the A’s pen this season, see if we can find any familiar names there. Closer Grant Balfour is 11-25 in save oportunities in his career, so we can say that this closer thing is pretty new for him. He has a career ERA of 3.65, not bad for a guy with 10 years of major league experience. It will be interesting to see how he does in the closers roll for the A’s. Brian Fuentes was an Angel for 2009 and most of 2010, and he was an Athletic in 2011, so the Rangers are familiar with him. Another guy who has been in the league for 10 years and has an ERA under 3.70 (3.43 to be exact). With some of the young guys like De Los Santos, Cook and Carignan, it will be very interesting to see how erratic this pen may be or how good it could be. As a Rangers fan, I am hoping for erratic.
Offense:
The A’s did not really have a great offense in 2010, but it was better than
Seattle’s. Oakland was tied for 2nd worst in the league with a .244 team batting average. The hit just 114 home runs while striking out 1094 times. Their slugging percentage was 3rd worst in the league at .369. I think they will have a slightly improved offense in 2012, but only slightly. I look for the A’s to win 70-75 games and finish a distant third in the AL West in 2012.
